Gotham Independent Film Awards Winners Announced

Last night marked another year of the Gotham Independent Film Awards, a New York-based awards ceremony that—per its name—celebrates the best in independent filmmaking. The ceremony is presented courtesy of the Independent Filmmaker Project, an advocacy group for independent filmmakers. Held in New York’s Cipriani Wall Street, the night served as a kick-off to this year’s awards season while also shaking up a few category races in the process.

Besides the awards portion, the show also paid tribute to several industry heavyweights, including Before Midnight director Richard Linklater, the late Sopranos star James Gandolfini, New York-based media and entertainment executive Katherine Oliver and Lee Daniels’ The Butler lead actor Forest Whitaker. Whitaker’s segment was somewhat derailed when presenter Lee Daniels scolded the audience for talking during his speech.

“Forest would like to hear all you talking through my speech, so shut the fuck up,” Daniels reportedly said, according to Deadline.